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Ray Kowalik Named CEO-Elect at Burns & McDonnell

Just a week after Burns & McDonnell announced that Greg Graves would retire as chairman and CEO at the end of 2016, employees at the engineering and design firm learned that their new boss would be Ray Kowalik, a 29-year veteran of the company. He’ll take on those duties next year, when he becomes the seventh CEO in the firm’s 118-year old history.

 “Ray exudes leadership, is a fierce promoter of our employee-owned culture and is a master at embracing complex challenges and developing strategies to create innovative solutions,” said Graves, who broke the news to the firm’s employees this morning. “I had the opportunity to give Ray his first promotion to project manager not long after he joined the firm. He was immediately the one everyone wanted to lead their team to make a real difference. Now, I know Ray’s leadership and entrepreneurial approach will create new and exciting advancements for our firm, clients and communities.”

Kowalik holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering from the University of Missouri-Columbia, and spent most of his career in the firm’s energy group, 11 years as its general manager, the company said in a news release.  His team consistently won awards for excellence in the industry and for client satisfaction, including his team’s work on Kansas City Power & Light’s Iatan 2 generation station, Power magazine’s Plant of the Year for its innovative energy plan.

Last year, he became president of the global practices unit, with leaders of the 11 business groups that once reported to the CEO under his wing, a moved that that the company credits with producing record sales of  $2.6 billion last year.

 “Our unique culture has helped make Burns & McDonnell the 15th best place to work in the country and win numerous awards for client satisfaction,” Kowalik said. “It’s allowing us to attract the brightest talent across the globe, and win the confidence of our clients. We are pioneering solutions for some of the biggest challenges our world is facing — like grid security, clean water, oil and gas, and improving our critical infrastructure — and we are embracing every moment of it.”

Kowalik will be given the reins to the firm’s well-known philanthropic efforts and roles in civic leadership, the release said.  He’s a native of the Kansas City metropolitan area and lives in Lee’s Summit. He and his wife, Jill have a daughter attending MU.